ARCHIE Continues Horror Bent With Fall's SABRINA

Sabrina the Teenage Witch is returning, but don’t expect any Melissa Joan Hart-esque fluff and comedy here. No, Sabrina is a new ongoing series launching in October, and joining Afterlife with Archie, the title will be another Archie horror comic.

In fact, Afterlife writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is spearheading this one as well, with artist Robert Hack. Aguirre-Sacasa says the horror here should even be scarier than in their landmark first series written with an adult reader in mind.

"It's a story about witches and witchcraft, demonology and occultism, so yes, the 'monsters' are going to be more diabolical,” the writer told USAToday.com in an announcement interview.

The series takes place in the 1960s and will start by retelling the origin of the 16 year-old witch. In the book, she’ll be trying to learn about her powers while keeping them a secret from those around her - in the regular Riverdale, everyone knows and accepts that Sabrina can cast a spell or three. "The cost of anyone finding out her secret - which happens at the end of the first issue - comes with dire, deadly consequences," Aguirre-Sacasa teased.

Meanwhile, Hack is a fan of where the writer is taking the series, and insists that this is most definitely a horror comic taking characters readers recognize into "new, ghastly direction[s]."

"The horror in Sabrina carries so much weight because we've cared for these characters for, quite literally, generations. And Roberto's scripts alternate between tugging at heartstrings and ripping them out," Hack says.

Afterlife with Archie debuted to critical acclaim, marking the first time a “Mature Readers” series was developed by Archie Comics, that one in the form of a zombie apocalypse hitting Riverdale. Since its debut, Aguirre-Sacasa has also become Chief Creative Officer of Archie Comics. There’s no indication that the new series or his increased workload will affect him writing Afterlife, though.